LESSON 1

Communication, media and information

The word media was derived from the Latin word medius, which means ”middle” It is the plural of
medium, which refers to the tool people use to mediate or facilitate the transfer of communication
between a send and a receiver.

Media are commonly associated with television, radio, newspaper, and the internet.
People us to communicate such as phone, letters and books.

Mass media, a type of media used to reach a large audience

Media as defined by UNESCO, refers to sources of credible and current information created through an
editorial process determined by journalistic values whereby editorial accountability can be attributed to
a specific organization or a legal person.

Information is a broad term that is derived from the study experience or instruction. It can refers or
details about a subject that depict meaning to a person.

Media and Information Literacy

William James (2004), a Canadian communication educator, defines media literacy as a set of
perspective that people use actively to expose themselves to a mass media and interpret the meaning of
the message they encounter. Perspective in Potter’s definition relate to people’s positions.

Difference of perspective might affect how people look at a particular message. These perspectives,
according to Potter, are built from knowledge structures.

New Mexico-based Media Literacy Project (MPL) defines media literacy as the “the ability to access,
analyze, evaluate, and create media.”

Information literacy is a set of abilities which require individuals to recognize when information is
needed and to locate, evaluate and use it effectively.

Media and Information literacy (MIL) therefore is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create
information from media and other information sources.

Media and Information Literacy vs. Technology Literacy

The Colorado Department of Education (2009) defines technology literacy as the ability to responsibly
use appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, access, manage, integrate, evaluate,
design, and create information to improve learning in all subject areas, and acquire lifelong knowledge
and skills in the 21st century.
LESSON 2
THE EVOLUTION OF MEDIA

Marshall McLuhan (1969), a renowned Canadian communication theorist from the University of
Toronto, provides a clear story in how media evolved through technological determinism.

Technological determinism is a theory that believes technology is a steering factor in how society
develops its structure and values.

“No aspect of culture is untouched by communication technology.”

McLuhan subdivided the history into four epochs or ages.

Tribal Age
The first period is called the tribal age that is characterized by the prevalence of oral communication.

The tribal age is characterized as an oral society dependent on speech and word-of-mouth, who lives in
a world of “acoustic space,” as compared to the rational or pictorial space of literate man.

Acoustic space, as McLuhan explained, “is organic and integral, perceived through the simultaneous
interplay of all the senses; whereas “rational” pictorial space is uniform, sequential and continuous and
creates a closed world with none of the rich resonance of the tribal echoland.”

Age of Literacy
McLuhan describes the introduction of phonetics as a bombshell, ”installing sight at the head of the
hierarchy of senses.” This is where the age of literacy began

This development also allowed the people to communicate and share information privately.

Print Age
The third period, as McLuhan detailed, is the print age, which was highlighted by the invention of the
Gutenberg press or movable type in the 15th century.

Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, books were reproduced by thousands.

This period was characterized by the further dominance or visual space and logical thinking.

Industrial age, a point in history from the 18th to the 19th centuries, marked by the transition in
manufacturing processes.
McLuhan pertained to the invention of the Gutenberg press 15th century Europe as the start of the Print
Age. However, printing originated in China in 9th century.

Electronic Age
The last period in McLuhan’s theory is the electronic age, a period characterized by the dominance of
the electric media, such as telegraph, radio, film, telephone, computer, and television. For McLuhan, the
invention of the telegraph in 1830s started an electronic revolution that diminished the role of the print
media.

McLuhan went further by describing the electronic age as a force that turned the planet into a global
village

The Cambridge dictionary defines new media as the ”products and service that provide information or
entertainment using computers or the internet.” Unlike traditional media (print, radio, and television),
new media are digitally produced as interactive, and requires at least a two-way communication.

Dr. W. James Potter (2008) enumerated three key innovation that led to the development of this new
mass medium: medium affordable personal computer, the digitization of information, and the internet.
The computer was invented in the 1940s

Pre-Colonial Period
The umalohokan or town crier served as a walking bulletin who went around the barangay to deliver
public announcements. Different forms of literature were also during developed during pre-colonial
years, including sabi(maxim), bugtong (riddle), kumintang (war song) of the Tagalog;tutul (folk tale)
darangan (epic poetry)
(Braid and Tuazon, 1999)
scripts on leaves and barks of trees, written in ancient Filipino systems of writing, such as baybayin and
kavi

Spanish Period
1593, the Philippine Islands published its first ever book-Doctrina Christiana, a book dealing with
Christian doctrine. The first Spanish sheet of information called Aviso al public appeared in the
Philippines in 1809. However Del Superior Gobierno was the first regular newspaper in the country,
introduced by the Spanish Government in 1811; while La Esperanza (1846) was the first newspaper
distributed daily in the country

La Solidaridad (1889), established by the reformists from the Propaganda Movement; Kalayaan (1898),
the official organ of the Katipunan; and La Independencia (1898), the most widely read newspaper of
the Revolution.
La Libetad (1898) and El Heraldo de Iloilo (1898).
Cinema came to the Philippines in 1897. Just as the spotlight was dimming for zarzuela and vaudeville, a
Spaniard named Pertierra introduced the motion picture to Filipinos in Manila on January 1, 1897. By
August 1897, the Spanish soldier Antonio Ramos opened up a movie house in Manila for the general
public to enjoy.

American Period
American colonization (1898-1946), newspaper published by American journalists were introduced.
These include The Manila Times (1898), The Bounding Billow, and Official Gazette (1898), Manila Daily
Bulletin (1900), and Philippine Free Press (1999)

National newspaper emerged again by 1920 with the foundation of the pro-Filipino The Philippine
Herald, organized through the effort of Manuel L. Quezon.

Nationalist and Liberal newspaper include El Nuevo Dia (The New Day) founded by Sergio Osmeña in
Cebu in 1900, El Renacinmiento (1908), and Sakdal (1930)

The first radio station that was established during this period was KZKZ (1922), run by American ex-
soldier Henry Herman Sr. Other station KZRM, KZEG, and KZIB. Provincial station started operation with
KZRC in Cebu City.

The call letters of the first radio stations in the Philippines stared with “K” since the country was colony
of USA back then. American radio stations call letters started with either “K” or “W”

Francisco “Koko” Trinidad, also known as the “Father of the Philippine Broadcasting” requested the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to change the call letter “K” in the Philippine to “RP.”
However, this request was denied and ITU gave the Philippines the call letter “D” instead.

The first feature film with and without sound also emerged during the American period, such as Rose of
the Philippines (1909), Ang Aswang (1932), and Punyal na Guinto (1933). From 1930s to 1950s, the
Golden Age of Philippine Cinema began. Zamboanga (1937) and Genghis Khan (1950)

Komiks formally introduced during the American period. Antonio Velasquez, regarded as the ”Father of
Filipino Komiks” saw the potential of the illustrated medium in 1926. Dr. Jose Rizal was the first Filipino
to draw published cartoon strips, it was Velasquez who, in cooperation with Romualdo Ramos, first
illustrated a cartoon character name kenkoy, published in the January 11, 1929 issue of Liwayway.

Japanese Period
Japanese forces who occupied the Philippines (1941-1945) disbanded all publication except those used
by the Japanese government such as Manila Tribune, Taliba and La Vanguardia (Braid and Tuazon, 1999)
Postwar Era (1945-1972), became the golden age of Philippine journalism, for the Philippine press was
considered the “freest in Asia” (Braid and Tuazon, 1998). In 1953, television was introduced in the
country

Martial Law Period

When Martial Law was declared on sept 21 1972 the few newspaper that operated during those years
were the Daily Express, Bulletin Today and the Time Journal

Broadcast Stations such as ABS-CBN 2, RPN 9 and IBC13 were also sequestered by the government.

Post-Martial Law Period

People Power Revolution of 1986 proved beneficial to the media industry as censorship was lifted and
the freedom of expression, of speech and of the press were reinstituted with the end of the Marcos
dictatorship

Internet was first made available in the Philippines on March 29 1994 through a connection made but
Benjie Tan at a PLDT network center in Makati City

LESSON 3
INFORMATION LITERACY

Information vs. Data vs. Knowledge

Merriam Websters Dictionary defines information as knowledge that a person gets about someone or
something.

Data refer to unstructured facts and figures that create the least impact on the receiver
Information, therefore, is data organized with relevance and purpose, made meaningful by a person
Knowledge, on the other hand refers to the human understanding of a subject matter derived from
experience, learning, and thinking.

Information literacy
Information literacy is a set of abilities that enables and individual to recognize when information is
needed information
Alexandria Declaration adopted by the high level colloquium on information means to “empower people
in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal,
social, occupation and educational goals

William Pollard, and American physicist , information us a source if learning and is considred a benefit;
but when unorganized, unprocessed, and unavailable to people who will use it, information becomes a
burden
Ethical Use of information

Privacy
Is a state of being alone

Accuracy
Relate to the correctness of the information source to the details of the information

Plagiarism
Is to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas

Information literacy skills

1. A need for information
2. Resources available
3. How to find information
4. The need to evaluate results
Triangulation method to use question the validity reliability and accuracy of an information source
5. How to work with or exploit result
6. Ethics and responsibility if use
7. How to communicate or share your findings
8. How to manage your findings

LESSON 4
TYPES OF MEDIA

Print media-is the oldest of media 700-100bce

Books are considered to be the oldest which can traced back as far as 3 500 bce Sumerian style of
cuneiform
Newspaper is a lightweight, serial publication w/c comes out regularly.
The 1st newspaper appeared in Germany, France, and Belgium in the 1600s.
The first modern newspapers started in print size, until it grew into what came to be called broadsheet.
Popular form of print medium is magazine, which targets a variety of audiences by offering smorgasbord
of articles that aim to entertain, inform, or advertise.
1731 – Englishman Edward Cave, the publisher of The Gentleman’s Magazine, invented the term
“magazine” from the Arabic word “makhazin”, which means “storehouse.”
Journal is a periodic publication focusing on a specific field of study.

Broadcast Media – associated with two forms: the radio and the television.
Robles and Tuazon – broadcasting is a form of mass communication that utilizes radio and television to
transmit messages and programs via the airspace.
1877 Thomas Edison – introduced the cylinders for his phonograph.
1880s Thomas Edison invented film cameras and projectors.
1885 Auguste and Louis Lumiere invented the cinematograph – a camera and developing machine that
can project visual images on screens.

The first radio signals were transmitted by Guglielmo Marconi in 1985 (who used Morse code through
his invention wireless telegraph)
Radio broadcasting began on the early 1900s with the first long distance voice and music transmission
done by physicist Reginald Fessenden.
Radio was introduced in the Phil. In 1992
The oldest radio station in the country is DZRH, which first signed in as KZRH in 1939.

Television – developed from the technology used in radio.

New Media – the term new media has been in use since the 1960s. It refers to digital media that are
interactive, incorporating two way communication, and involving a form of computing.

Media Convergence – Terry Flew put media convergence is the result of the internet and of media
content digitization, rounding up the three Cs in media – computing, communication, and content.

LESSON 5
MEDIA AND INFORMATION SOURCES

Types of information sources

Primary source – is an original, uninterpreted, or first hand material of information created by the
persons directly involved in an activity or an event.
EX: speeches, autobiographies, personal letters, photos, diaries, and manuscripts.
Secondary source – provides an information obtained through a number of primary sources, and has
undergone editing or interpretation.
EX: scholarly books and articles.
Tertiary source – consists summaries and collections of both primary and secondary sources.
EX: reference materials that list or summarize ideas or information, textbooks, encyclopedias, etc.

Formats of information sources

Print – books, periodicals, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Nonprint – audio, video, microform, microfilm, etc.

Where to find information sources

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions describes library as a “means of
access to information, ideas and works of imagination.”
Library is a building or room that contains a collection of books, periodicals, and audio visual materials.

Internet is a global network of computers that allows computer users around the world o share
information for various purposes.

Indigenous media – this refers to a form of media conceptualized produced, and circulated by
indigenous people as vehicles for communication, for cultural preservation, cultural and artistic
expression, political self determination, and cultural sovereignty

Evaluating information and media

2 different types of information: truths and untruths

Triangulation
Jary and Jary defined validity as the extent to which a measure indicator or method of data collection
possesses the quality of being sound or true as far as can be judged.

Reliability pertains to the extent to which a source exudes dependable, trustworthy, genuine, reputable
process of information gathering.

LESSON 6
MEDIA AND INFORMATION LANGUAGES

Media language is a method, consisting signs and symbols, used by information producers to convey
meanings to their audiences.

Diegetic sounds are the raw sounds in an audio-video material

Non-diegetic sounds are the sounds that have been added in the post-production stage of the material.

Codes and conventions

Codes
The systems of signs that are put together to create arbitrary meaning.

2 types of codes:

Technical codes are ways in which materials are used to tell the story in a media text, such as camera
angles and techniques, framing, lighting, and exposure.

Symbolic codes comprise of objects, setting, body language, and actions that signify things more than
what is seen by the audience.

Convention
David Croteau and William Hoynes – convention is a practice or technique that is widely used in a field.
Technical convention – is applied to technical area, such as the length of television series, films, or
music videos.

Genre convention – is usually associated with the type of content.

Media representations
Codes and conventions are used to represent an information in a specific manner that oftentimes do not
represent reality.

LESSON 7
LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND SOCIETAL ISSUES IN MEDIA AND INFORMATION

Ethical vs. legal

Law is set a set of universally accepted rules, accepted and enforced within a certain territory
or entity.
Ethics a word derived from the Latin word ethikos meaning “character” defines how individuals prefer
to interact with one another.

Intellectual property anything that a person creates, designs or invents that can be treated as an asset
or physical property.

Copyright
The exclusive legal right of an IP owner to reproduce, sell or distribute a material that he/she created.

Scope copyright subdivided into 2: economic right & moral right

Rob Aft and Charles Edouard Renault stated key principles:

 Exclusivity
 No formalities for establishments
 Contractual freedom
 Remuneration
 Territoriality
 Enforcement

Public domain refers to works that are not covered by IP rights due to expiration or forfeiture of rights.
Creative commons (CC) is non profit org that provide licenses to copyright owners of distribute their IPs
under several conditions.
Trademark is a name, word, slogan, among others that identifies a product or organization. It
characterize by the symbols ™ and
Patent is a government license given to industrial processes and inventions that gives its creator an
exclusive right to use, sell, or manufacture the said IPs.

According to Barnbaum there are 5 general types of plagiarism:

 Cut and paste
 Word switch
 Style
 Metaphor
 Idea

Fair use is the privilege given to users who wish to use copyrighted materials w/o prior permission or
remuneration, if the benefit of a work to society outweighs the cost to the holder.

According to Lapeña plagiarism comes from the Latin word plagiarus which mean “kidnapper”

Fabrication is the production of data or results and reporting them a true and correct, or simply an
invention of data

Falsification is the manipulation of research materials, or the modification and omission of data in an
information to meet a certain result.

Netiquette: Ethics on the internet

Netiquette is a body of conventions and manner in using the internet as a tool for data and
communication exchange. The word “netiquette” comes from the words “network” and “etiquette.”

LESSON 8
THE POWER OF MEDIA AND INFORMATION

According to Potter there are 6 types of media effects.

 Cognitive
 Belief
 Attitudinal
 Emotional
 Physiological
 Behavioral